$200/MONTH MENU PLAN FOR OUR FAMILY OF 5 (POST #27)

Tired of asking, “What should we have for dinner”? Here are the meals that our family of 5 has been enjoying lately on our $200/mo. grocery budget.

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If you are new to these menu plans of mine, it’s probably helpful to know a couple of things first:

• Our family of five consists of two adults with fairly big appetites, a 7 ½-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl.
• I buy lots of fruits and veggies in bulk from local farmers/orchards in the summer and then freeze or can them. This is not only much cheaper it is also healthier too. But that is why if you look at my Weekly Spending Summaries you won’t always see lots of produce.
• I have a stockpile.  My cupboards are full from previous shopping and here’s why. When I can get pasta for free with coupons, I buy as much as I have coupons for.  If I’m able to get flour for $0.50/bag like I did last fall, I’ll buy half a dozen and put them in the freezer to use as needed.  I do this as much as my budget allows, on as many items as I can and as a result save lots of money. Then when I go to plan menus, I simply plan our meals around what I already have in my cupboards and freezer, as much as possible.  Obviously, I still might have to buy a few things at regular price here and there, but by stocking up when the price is at rock bottom I save a lot.
• I cook almost totally from scratch. That means when I make a cake, I rarely use a cake mix.  I make my own bread totally from scratch. I rarely use pre-packaged sauces. I make my own cream soups and pie crusts. Making your own food is typically less expensive and healthier too.
• We rarely snack.  By eating “heavy” food like granola at breakfast we don’t get hungry until lunchtime. And the same goes for the afternoon. Our lunches are big enough that we usually are fine until dinner time. When we do need a snack, I try to keep it mostly healthy by offering fruit, nuts or maybe No Bake Energy Bites. We don’t always do it perfectly though, and sometimes end up having chips or cookies instead.
• Our breakfasts consist of Homemade Granola or Baked Oatmeal, the occasional bought cereal that I was able to get for $0.50/box and sometimes some fruit too.  I know that might seem awfully boring to some of you, but we actually all really enjoy it and prefer it over other breakfast food.  I also have a homemade iced latte, homemade frappe or some other fun beverage every morning.  It’s just one of the little things that I do to add a bit of sunshine to my days!

Below you will find our lunches and dinners.  (If we ate something other than our usual breakfast, I’ll note that too.)  Monday through Friday, the lunches are just for the three children and me.  My husband takes a packed lunch with him to work and it typically consists of sandwiches, fruit, homemade yogurt and sometimes random leftovers too.

What Should We Have for Dinner- Menu Ideas

WEEK 1
Sunday

• One Pan Chicken & Rice; Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream
• Toasted Tuna Salad Sandwiches made with 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Easy Frozen Fruit Smoothie

Monday

• Leftover Homemade Pizza; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
• Lettuce Salad (with chicken and lots of other ad-ins) and Homemade Vinaigrette; Fresh Strawberry Pie

Tuesday

• Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
• Creamy Sausage and Potatoes; Peas; Turkey Hill All Natural Ice Cream

Wednesday

• Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Bananas; Home Canned Peaches
• Hamburger Zucchini Quiche; Green Beans; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover Fresh Strawberry Pie

Thursday

• Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Bananas; Frozen Blueberries
• Rice & Bean Wraps (rice/beans/diced tomatoes/seasonings with sour cream and shredded cheese); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake
  – We loved the cake recipe.  I did cut back the sugar to ¾ c and used reg. yogurt instead of Greek.  We ate it with milk poured over the top, since that’s how we like our shortcake.  🙂

Friday

• Meat & Cheese Sandwiches made with 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Potato Chips; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Fruit Slush; No Bake Energy Bites
  – It was Track & Field day at our son’s school, so we took this as a picnic lunch to eat there.
• Salmon Soup (sort of like oyster soup, but uses canned salmon instead); Lettuce Salad; Leftover Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake

Saturday

• Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Bananas
• Homemade Ham & Bean Soup; Lettuce Salad; Cheese; Homemade Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Strawberries

WEEK 2
Sunday

• Had a carry-in meal at church and I took Homemade Chocolate Cake with Easy Caramel Frosting and a 5-gallon bucket of ice cream.
• Toasted Tuna Salad Sandwiches made with 100% Whole Wheat Bread; Homemade Popcorn; Easy Frozen Fruit Smoothie

Monday

• Leftover Salmon Soup; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
• Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza (used homemade Alfredo sauce and homemade pizza crust and topped with chicken and caramelized onions); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Homemade Applesauce; No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
  – This homemade pizza crust recipe is awesome! Not only does it need no time to rise, but you can also have it ready to go in the oven in 30 minutes! And it’s really tasty too. The only thing I do differently is pre-bake the crust a bit before putting on the toppings.

Tuesday

• Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
• Easy John Wayne Casserole; Peas; Homemade Applesauce; Leftover No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

Wednesday

• Leftover John Wayne Casserole; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Home Canned Peaches; Frozen Blueberries
• Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps; Lettuce Salad; Homemade Applesauce; Blonde Brownies (from the freezer)

Thursday

• Leftover Salmon Soup; Homemade Popcorn; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Crushed Strawberries (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
• Homemade Breakfast Sandwiches (eggs/bacon/cheese on bagels); Lettuce Salad; Homemade Strawberry Shortcake with fresh strawberries

Friday

• Various Leftovers; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
• Bean & Sour Cream Enchilada (I use this recipe as my basis, but make a number of changes so that it isn’t so spicy); Lettuce Salad with Mexican Dressing; Blonde Brownies (from freezer)

Saturday

• Eggs; 100% Whole Wheat Bread (toasted) with Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam; Easy Homemade Yogurt; Frozen Peaches (I preserved); Frozen Blueberries
• Our neighbors invited us last minute to a cookout at their place, so I whipped up a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars to share with them.